Signaling system



S@Pt- 9, 1930. R. F. GOULD SIGNALING SYSTEM Filed March 5o, 1929 Petenfed sept. 9, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE BOY l'. COULD, Ol' CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOB TO RESERVE HOLDING COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE SIGNALING SYSTEM Application led Huch 80, 1929. Serial No. 351,328.

This invention relates in general to signaling systems and in particular to such systems wherein. signals are transmitted from remote sending stations to a central receivj ing station which has equipment to cause the transmitted signals to be displayed upon banks of lamps.

Signaling systems of that character are particularly useful in garages of the ramp type where it is a necessity that the door attendant be informed of the number of vacant stalls on each floor so that he may dispatch cars with the least possible delay and confusion.

I have taken for the principal object of my invention the provision of a system of the character above described which employs the minimum of equipment with a minimum of maintenance and installation costs.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear.

This application is a continuation in art of my application Serial No. 289,192, ed June 29, 1928, now abandoned.

26 The accompanying single sheet of drawings diagrammatically shows the equipment necessary for each line of the system, there being one line for each floor of the garage.

The equipment included within the dotted 30 rectangle towards the upper left-hand corner of the sheet is that located at the sending station and it comprises the impulse sender S, signal lamp L, bell B, and key K.

The equipment included within the dotted rectangle towards the right is that located at the receiving station and it comprises the bank of lamps L1 to L0, inclusive, and the key K1. The lamps are arranged behind a glass panel so that when each lamp lights it exhibits a numeral corresponding to that lamp on the face of the panel. There is one such panel with a key similar to K1 fior each line, which, in this case, represents each Hoor of the garage.

The equipment in the lower central part of the drawing is the equipment necessary to translate the signals from impulses to lighted lamps. This equipment comprises the relays 9, 10, and 11 and the switch M.

A complete and detailed description of the operation of the system will now be given so thatthe novelty and utilit of my invention may be fully appreciated.

It will be assumed that on the third floor of the garage there is room to store four cars; that is, there are four vacant stalls. The floor attendant, desiring to apprise the dispatcher, who is on the main floor of the garage, of this fact, operates the impulse sender S located on that floor. The impulse sender S is of the well-known Strowger type consisting of a mechanism controlled by a finger-hole dial having ten fin r holes located near the periphery of the ial, the holes being numbered l to 0, inclusive. To operate the impulse sender, the finger is inserted in the hole correspondlng to the digit which it is desired to transmit, and the dial is rotated in a clockwise direction until the finger encounters a stop. The dial is then released and allowed to return to its starting position under the influence of a spring. In so doing, it operates a mechanism to transmit a number of impulses corresponding to the digit selected.

In accordance with the assumed number four, that being the number of vacant stalls, the floor attendant inserts his finger in #4 hole of the dial and rotates the dial in a clockwise direction. As the dial is turned from its position of rest,'spring l which is held in contact with spring 2 under tension, l

disengages spring 2 and engages spring 3, thereby completing energizing circuits for relays 9 and 10 in multiple over conductor 7. The circuit for relay 10 extends to battery via conductor 20 and olf-normal spring 26 and its right-hand contact, of switch M.

Relays 9 and 10, when energized, operate their armatures to move their springs into engagement with their working contacts. In the case of relay 9, the moving of spring 'l2 into engagement with its make contact eX- tends the conductor 8 to spring 1,4. In the case of relay 10, the moving of spring 13 .i

completes a locking circuit for itself partially independent of the original energizing circuit, and the moving of spring 14 connects conductor 8 with conductor 18 and the winding of the lmotor magnet 23 of switch M.

-make contact, spring 14 and its make contact, conductor 18, winding of motor magnet 23, to groundedl battery. Motor magnet 23 .operates four times in accordance with the number of impulses recelved over conductor 18 and with each operation moves its wiper 25 one step.

. As wiper 25,moves from rest, it allows offnormal spring 26 to disengage itself from its right-hand contact and engage its left-hand contact, thus opening the original energizing circuit of relay 10.

When wiper 25 comes to rest on the fourth contact of its bank, a circuit is completed for lamp L4, which -is traceable as follows: from ground, lamp L4, conductor 27, wiper 25, to battery. Lamp L4 lights in that circuit to exhibit the number 4 on the lamp panel.

When the linger dial reaches its position of rest, spring 1 disengages spring 3 and engages spring 2, thereby opening the circuits of relays 9 and 10 to permit them to deenergize to move their springs into engagement With their back contacts, and completing the y circuit of lamp L in series with release magnet 24 to battery via off-normal spring 26 and its left-hand contact. Lamp L lights whenitscircuit is completed and remains lighted as long as the'equipment is in use. Release magnet 24 is so adjusted that it will not operate in series with lamp L; Therefore, when it is desired at any other time to send a signal, the attendant will be able to tell by the condition of lamp L whether or not the equipment is in use.

If at any time it is desired to erase the number written u on the lamp panel, it may be accomplished y the operation of key K at the sending station or key K1 at the receiving station. The operation of key K, or key K1, short circuits lamp L, allowing the release magnet 24 to operate to return wiper 25 to its position of r'est in the well-known manner. v

once to one floor. Therefore, the system has been so arranged that if a number comprising two digits is dialled, the tens number next below it will be registered upon the single row of lamps. dialled, 40 would be registered if 32 were dialled, 30 would-be registered; and so on.

For example, if 48 were The diallin ofthe second. digit always multiplies the rst digit by -ten merely by light-- ing the 0 lamp.

Going back to the place in the sequence of operations where the number 4 is exhibited, the dial isi-n its normal position and relays 9 and 10 have deenergized, the operation of the system when a second vdigit is dialled will be described.

When the dial is turned from its position of rest the second time, the same circuit for relay 9 is completed and relay 9 operates. No circuit is completed this time for relay 10 because oif-norm'al spring 26 is out of engagement with its right-hand contact. No matter what number is dialled, the irst impulse transmitted by the engagement of lsprings 4 and 5 energizes relay 11, which relay operates, completing two locking circuits for itself. The path traveled by that first impulse is the same as that traveled by the first group of impulses until it gets to spring 14 of relay 10. Since relay 10 is not energized, the impulse path goes by way of spring 14 and its back contact, lower winding of relay 11, conductor 19, left-hand contact and olf-normal spring 26to grounded battery. One of the two locking circuits for relay 11 is completed by the engagement of spring 16 with. its make contact. The other locking circuit includes the upper winding of relay 11, spring 1'5 and its make contact, conductor 17, and lamp L0. Lamp L0 lights in that circuit to exhibit the numeral O on the panel.

Thus it will be seen that the dialling of the second digit of a number lights the 0 lamp regardless of the digit dialled.

This arrangement enables less equipment to be used, for, to register the second digit eX- actly as dialled, it would be necessary to provide a second switch similar to switch M and a second row of lamps.

The operation of release key K1 at the receivin station not only releases the equipment, ut it also closes an operating circuit for4 the bell B at the sending station. By prearranged code, sa two rings of bell B, the dispatcher may slgnal the attendant for a recount of the number of vacant stalls.

Although I have chosen the foregoing manner of illustrating my invention, it is not my intention to be limited to the exact disclosure, for there are modifications and adaptations which could be made b those skilled in the art without departing rom the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I consider new and desire to have protected by'Letters Patent shall be pointed out in the appended claims.

What is claimed is;

1.. In a signaling s stem, a sending station having a digit impu se sending device, a receiving station havin a lamp panel comprlsmg a single row o lamps, a selecting device operated responsive to the operation of Athe digit sender to light the lamp 1n said row corresponding to the digit sent, and a relay operated res onsive to a subsequent opeia' tion of the igit sender to li ht one certain lamp in said row regardless 0I the digit sent.

2. In a signaling s stem, a sending station having a digit impu se sending-device, areceiving station having alamp panel comprising a single row of ten lamps numbered 1 .to

0, inclusive, a selecting device o rated responsive to the operation of the 'git sender to li ht the lamp in the row corresponding to fthe igit sent, and a relay operated responsive to a subsequent operation of the di 't sender bers comprising one digit to li ht'the lamp corresponding to that dlgit, an means (33erated responsive to the operation Iof the igit sender in sending numbers of any two digits to light lamps corresponding to the nearest lower multiple of ten by l1 hting a lamp izorresponding to. the first digit and the 0 IiiJ witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe my name this 26th day of March, A. D. 1929.

l ROY F. GOULD.

to light the 0 lamp regardless o the digit l sent.4

3. In a signaling system, a sending staf tion having a digit impulse sending device, a receiving station having a lamp panelJcomprising a single row of lamps, circuit connections for each lamp of the row, a switching device operated res onsive to the operation of the digit sen er to complete the circuit connection for the lamp of said row corresponding to. the digit sent, an additional circuit connection or a certain one of the lamps, and a relay operated responsive to a subsequent operation of the digit sender to always complete said additional circuit connection for said certain lamp.

4. In a signaling s stem, a sending station having a digit imp u se sending device, a recelving statlon havlng a lamp panel comprising a single row of ten lamps, a ten point switch having each f its points in `an energizing circuit for one of said lamps, said switch operated responsive to the initial operation of the digit sender to select the point corresponding to the digit vsent and to complete the energizing circuit for the associated lamp, and a relay operated responsive to a second andsubsequent operation of the digit sender to always vcomplete the energizing circuit of a certain one of said lamps independently of said switch. A

5. In a signaling system, a sending station having a digit impulse sending device, a receiving station having a lamp -panel comprising a single row of ten lamps numbered 1 to 0, inclusive, means operated responsive to the operation'of .the digit sender in send.-

' ing ,numbers comprising one digit to Alight the 

